Kingdom Hearts: Link to Existence
by Aros13
Summary: Sora and Roxas finally team up to search for a forgotten friend that has resurfaced in Sora's heart. However, to do so, they'll need to clash with some old enemies that, like the mysterious number XIV, have returned, bent on revenge. R&R
1. Prologue

_Kingdom Hearts:_  
><em><span>Link to Existence<span>_

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><p>The flashes began a week or two after defeating Xemnas, the leader of Organization XIII. Sora's heart continued to feel pain every once in a while. As strong as the teenager had grown in the past two journeys, the hurt was bringing him down. His feelings understood, but his mind didn't. According to Kairi, he began to ramble in his sleep. Sora, Riku, and Kairi all knew that this was related to their adventures, so they couldn't reveal anything to anyone else. And the number.<p>

Sora said it in his sleep, he drew it in the sand, he thought of it day after day though he didn't know why. Sora needed answers. Answers to the hurt, answers to the mumbling, and answers to his heart. But mostly, answers to the number that started their next journey. Answers to the number XIV.

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><p><strong>My second story! Woo-hoo! This basically sets the stage for the rest of the story, so stay tuned.<br>****And if you haven't already, read my first KH fanfic.**

**~Aros13**


	2. The Reunion

**First chapter. R&R. Thanks**

**The Reunion**

"Sora! Sora, snap out of it!" Kairi said, shaking him by the shoulders.

"Sora, cut it out!" Riku was yelling. He could hear them, but…what were they talking about? Sora finally woke up from his trance.

"What?"

"Dude, you were doing it again," Riku replied.

"Oh, Sora." Kairi hugged him. "You're starting to worry me." Riku cleared his throat. "Uh, I mean, us. You're worrying us," she quickly added, blushing.

"What is it I keep doing?" Sora questioned. Riku pointed to the sand in front of him. Sora had time to see it before a frothy wave came and dragged it to sea. Crudely drawn with a single finger were the letters XIV. "I did that?"

"You seriously don't remember doing that?" Kairi asked with obvious worry in her voice.

"I keep telling you guys. I blank out from time to time and stuff like this happens."

"Do you think Roxas has something to do with it?" Riku suggested as he skipped a stone among the wavy shoreline.

"Well I'd love to ask him, but I don't think I can just set up an appointment." Sora mused.

The three best friends all looked out to the ocean where the sunset rippled through the settling waves. It had only been about two weeks since they arrived home from their second journey, and the three of them began catching up on how their parents were doing, what Kairi was doing (or was _supposed_ to be doing) for school, and how Tidus and Wakka had successfully created a new ball game.

Unfortunately, poor Sora had only been back at his island home for a week when the "visions" began. He collapsed from time to time and dreamt of a blurry person running away from him. Kairi told him the first time he woke up that he was constantly muttering something in his unconsciousness, though she couldn't make out what. Then there were times when his chest would explode with pain, almost like being stabbed through the heart. And finally, there were times like this when Sora would blank out and randomly write XIV, whether it was in the sand, on paper, or in Selphie's birthday cake.

"You know, I'm beginning to think it's a number," Riku thought aloud. "Like Roman Numerals. Then it would spell out 14."

"Okay then. What does 14 have to do with anything?"

"Sorry Sora, but I can only reveal one great truth at a time," Riku replied, heavily sarcastic.

"Sooooraaaa!" someone called out from the shoreline opposite the island.

"Gotta go, guys. See you tomorrow, then?" Sora said as he leaped up and headed towards the boats. Riku nodded, while Kairi got up and ran towards him.

"Those two lovebirds…" Riku muttered under his breath with a smile.

Sora jumped in his boat and began untying his rope from the dock when Kairi reached him. "Sora." He looked up at her. "I don't know how or why, but I had a feeling just now that…well…you'll be needing this," she confessed, and she held out her hand. Sora reached up and Kairi dropped a star made from five sea shells strung together with thread into his palm. Her lucky charm. Sora smiled back up at her and began drifting away as he finished with the rope. "Promise you'll give it back?" Kairi asked, knowing his answer.

"I promise," Sora correctly responded. Deep in his heart, he knew as well as Kairi that his next journey wasn't very far off.

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><p>That night, Sora was lying asleep in bed. And naturally, he had a dream. He was standing on a stained glass portrait of himself and his friends. The portrait was actually the top of a large pillar, but if you looked over the edge, all you saw was darkness stretching on for eternity.<p>

Standing near the edge was a teenage boy in a black cloak that was easily recognizable. Though he'd only met him twice, Sora immediately knew him as if he were himself (which technically, he was). The figure turned and threw back his hood, with is blonde hair was swept up to one side and his eyes matching Sora's perfectly. "Bout time you got here," the boy said, smirking.

"What do you want, Roxas?" Sora snapped. "I know you have something to do with all this. So lay it down."

Roxas threw up his gloved hands in innocence. "I had to get your attention somehow. But since we don't have much time here, I'll sum it up." The two met together in the center of the platform. "Well, long-story-short, I was wandering around inside here when suddenly, I remembered." He stared down at his black Organization shoes, looking guilty. "I remembered. There was…someone else…in the Organization, I mean…a friend…a Number XIV."

"But, wasn't it Organization XIII? Why would they have a Number XIV?" Sora pointed out.

"I don't remember all the details, but there was someone else," Roxas replied, shamefully.

"So, why did you need to talk to me?" Sora asked. His Nobody didn't answer for a moment, but then spoke.

"I think…the answer to my memory…is somewhere inside your heart."

"Well, I'd think you'd have a little time on your hands, stuck in here. Just go look around or whatever."

"It's not that simple. I'm afraid that if I go poking around in there, it might cause damage to your memories, feelings, etc. So…I'm asking for permission to search your heart." There was silence for a moment as Sora thought it over. He smiled.

"Of course you have my permission."

Roxas was surprised at this.

"You realize that if I do something wrong, it could very well mess up your entire being."

"Hey, if I can't even trust my own Nobody, who CAN I trust?" Sora seemed way too optimistic to his counterpart.

"Alright," Roxas finally said upbeat. "However, at the _very first_ sign of damage, come find me." Sora was right about to ask how when Roxas pulled out a Keyblade from behind his back. It had a simple red hilt and a black shaft. However, it lacked a keychain, and the space inside the teeth silhouetted a heart.

"The Keyblade of People's Hearts," he muttered with fear.

"I found this while wandering through your memory," Roxas said as he handled the blade carefully. "I watched the whole scene go down. You and your dramatic sacrifice for Kairi." He said this last part with a teasing tone. Sora cleared his throat loudly. "Anyways, use it to send yourself into your heart and tell me what's happening. I'll stop immediately."

"I'm not sure I want-" Roxas thrust the dark Keyblade into his hand before he could finish.

Suddenly, Roxas became blurred.

"Uh-oh. It's time for you to wake up." The floor began to crack. "Well, until next time." Sora started to walk to the edge. "Oh, and for the record," Roxas quickly added. "I may not answer every time, but we can always set up an appointment." This made both of them laugh before the glass beneath them shattered. Sora looked up as he fell, watching his Nobody walk away on nothing, and let himself fade into the dark abyss beneath him. He could vaguely make out words as they reached him saying, "Sora! Time to get up! Sooooraaaa!"

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><p><strong><strong>This is my first story featuring the actual KH characters, so tell me if I did good enough.<strong> This kind of sets the stage for the story, so watch for updates and REVIEW! Thanks!**

**~Aros13**


	3. Illusions of the Heart

**Chapter 2 is up! And so, Sora's next journey begins. Enjoy!**

Illusions of the Heart

Sora dimly opened his eyes and sat up, half asleep. He rubbed at the sleep gathered in the corners of his eyes and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Sora thought over the dream and what it had meant, trying to decide if it was real or not. He suddenly tensed up and looked in his hands, but there was nothing there. He sat there for a while, listening to waves tempting him to go back to sleep when suddenly his mother's voice called at him, snapping Sora to attention. "Riku's here to see you," she said. Sora dressed up in his usual get-up (the "magical" one he'd received from the Fairies) and walked toward his door to let himself out. Just as he walked out, his eyes spotted something dark in the corner. Looking back, Sora smiled as he remembered Roxas' concern for him, and he walked down the hall to meet Riku, leaving the Keyblade of People's Hearts where it lay.

Sora found Riku leaning on the white countertop in the kitchen, looking bored. "What's up, Riku?"

"Oh, you know. Kairi keeps flipping out every time you go home. She keeps thinking that you'll magically disappear and leave on another adventure without her. So she kept pestering me to 'check up' on you."

"Well, I don't want to keep either of you waiting, so just tell her that I won't be going anywhere for awhile."

"Thanks, man." Riku headed for the door. "Now that I think about it, we haven't gone out for ice cream. We should get some Sea-Salt later. How bout it?" Sora held the door open for his friend.

"Sounds great then. Noon?"

"Noon." With that, Riku turned and walked away as Sora shut the door behind him.

Sora thought out loud, "Man, I really haven't had ice cream in a long time. I hope I still enjoy it as much as I-" He wasn't able to finish, for a large stinging sensation embedded itself into his chest. "Ngh," he grunted as he fell to the floor clutching his heart. An echo rang through his head, saying "No…no, no, no!" "Roxas?" Sora asked out loud. A clang ran through his whole body like a steel hammer being thrown against the side of his skull and Sora frantically grasped his head. And just as it began, it ended. All the pain vanished into thin air. Sora slowly stood up, shaking, and wiped sweat from his face. The last trace of pain came with an image in his head. Sora saw Roxas with his back to a wall and about twelve Heartless surrounding him. And once again, as simply as it came, it went.

Roxas' warning echoed in his mind: _At the very first sign of damage, come find me._ Sora nodded to himself and rushed down the hall, where many younger-faced Soras were smiling. _Those_ Soras hadn't experienced the heartache and darkness of his adventures yet. He walked slowly into the room and turned to grasp the dark Keyblade's handle. "Alright, Roxas. I'm coming."

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><p>Kairi was brushing her velvet red hair when a frantic knocking came to her front door. She'd just gotten out of the shower (she always felt like taking a shower whenever she thought of Sora running off again) and was currently in a bathrobe, brushing the hair Sora always said he loved. Kairi was always thinking about when her hero would pluck up the courage to ask her out. She had been stressing over it since the trio had finally gotten home. The knocking came again, louder and quicker. The person obviously had something to say. Finally, Riku's voice called out "Kairi! Open up!"<p>

"I'm coming!" she said back. "Hold your horses!"

Kairi strode into her bedroom to get dressed. It would've been a little awkward if she answered the door with nothing but a bathrobe. In the meantime, her thoughts wandered to Riku. They'd been friends since she moved to the Islands (in all honesty, she met Riku first, who about a week later introduced Sora) and she never really had any deepfeelings for him. Kairi felt that he was more of a big brother than a friend. He always teased her and Sora, but no matter what, Riku seemed to act like her guardian too. _I wonder what he's doing back here,_ Kairi thought. _Only an hour ago, he came to tell me what Sora said._

"Kairi!" Riku yelled from the door.

"Okay, okay!" she replied, fully dressed now. She unlocked the door and swung it open. "What's the big emergency?" she said to his face with sarcasm. But one look from Riku told her that his emergency was nothing to joke about. He said two words and sent Kairi into panic mode.

"It's Sora."

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><p>Sora sat up immediately. He knew he'd stabbed himself in the heart with the malevolent Keyblade and fainted. He looked around, but just like his dream, there was nothing but darkness in every direction. Even the floor he was lying down on was pitch black. He stood up cautiously and gazed around, searching for even the faintest little light. Sora turned left. Nothing. He turned right. Nothing. He looked behind him. Light. He looked in front of…He turned around again and saw just the tiniest glimmer of light, like the end of a tunnel. And so, Sora ran towards it.<p>

He was running, running, running as fast as he could, but the light didn't seem to be getting any closer. Sora began to run out of breath and stopped for a moment, doubling over. He straightened up and immediately, the floor erupted in light. Sora shielded his eyes as all the darkness around him exploded with piercing light. It was so bright that Sora had to shield his entire face to prevent it from blinding him.

The light finally died down (much to his liking) but looking at the ground now, he found that he was standing on a cobblestone street. All around him, the darkness had been erased and he could see his surroundings now. However, it was all too familiar. Sora looked up and gaped at a beautiful night sky with stars poking out here and there. In front of him, an enormous wooden door had been built into the scarlet-brown brick wall. "It can't be!" Sora cried aloud. He spun around, knowing what he would see, and found himself staring at the golden neon 'Jewelry' sign. "Traverse Town?"

Poor Sora just couldn't have a second to himself without something happening. Three Soldiers appeared right in front of him; two of them immediately ran off behind him so as to surround him. Without thinking, Sora summoned his Kingdom Key and swung upwards. The first Soldier jumped over it, but Sora was ready. He pointed to Keyblade towards it and cast Firaga, sending a large fireball racing towards the Heartless. It erupted in flames and Sora glanced at the second one. It had tried to surprise him with a spinning kick, but Sora simply blocked it and counter-attacked, turning the Soldier into black dust.

The third one was too quick for him this time. The Heartless attacked him, but Sora had enough time to block it before it hit him. Unfortunately, the kick had enough force to knock the Kingdom Key from his hands and send it skidding far enough where Sora couldn't reach it, but close enough where it wouldn't reappear in his hands like it normally would. The Soldier saw the opportunity and jumped in the air.

"Sora!" He looked up and saw the Oathkeeper Keyblade spinning down towards him like a boomerang. Quick as a flash, he clutched the handle and held it up, where the Soldier literally landed on the tip and vaporized.

Suddenly, the Oathkeeper flew out of his hand, high into the air and spun in a similar fashion to the roof of the Accessory shop. A black cloaked boy caught it as it spun towards him.

"Thank you, Roxas!" Sora called up. The boy threw back his hood and smiled.

"Nice to see you in person," Roxas replied. He jumped down, bracing his legs as he landed, and walked up to Sora with Oathkeeper in one hand, Oblivion in the other.

Sora's first question wasn't "How're you doing?" or "How did you find me?" His first question was "Where in the world are we?"

"Don't you recognize it?" Roxas said.

"Yes! That's the problem! How did we get here?" Roxas put a hand on Sora's shoulder.

"Sit down. I'll need to explain a bit," he replied, motioning towards a set of tables off to the side of the courtyard.

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><p>"We are in your heart," Roxas started with once the two of them were situated. "When you used the Keyblade of People's Hearts on yourself, you unlocked your heart and sent yourself in here."<p>

"I knew that," Sora scoffed with frustration. "I want to know why we're in Traverse Town."

"Well, you may not know it, but your heart contains many things. Memories, feelings, thoughts, etc. When you traveled into your heart, all those good memories and feelings manifested themselves into this place." Sora looked around.

"But if my heart contains memories of so many places, then why did it specifically become Traverse Town?" Sora asked.

"I'm sorry," Roxas said with regret. "I didn't explain it clear enough. The memories of **Traverse Town** became this. Your memories of every other world also became just that. Each world you visited over the adventures can be found somewhere in here." Sora let that sink in. His feelings had created the very chair he was sitting in, each individual stone on the ground, even the Heartle-

"Wait! If that's the case, then why are their Heartless in here?" Sora questioned in shock.

Roxas hesitated. "Note how I said all the _good_ feelings. In the meantime, all the bad memories…the pain, the heartache, the feelings of regret…those manifested into the Heartless, like the ones you just fought." The way Roxas explained it made it very clear.

"So how do we get out of here?" Sora began to ask, but Roxas' eyes focused on something behind him and widened. He jumped up and took off running towards the alleyway Sora had woken up in the first time he arrived here. Sora heard Roxas say something like she-un under his breath and he ran after his Nobody, trying to catch up. Something rattled in his pocket and Sora reached in. He grabbed a star of seashells out of his pocket and, immediately, felt shame. He'd told Kairi he wouldn't leave her. Sora shook away the feeling and continued to chase after Roxas. _Sorry, Kairi,_ he thought. _But I've got to sort this out._

They turned the corner of the alley and Sora briefly glimpsed an Organization XIII cloak running on the rooftops and vanishing as it jumped down. Roxas yelled, "Wait," and leapt onto a crate. Using the momentum, he angled his footing precisely and began to run on the wall! His foot caught a windowsill and he used it to push himself up and over the rooftop the mysterious figure had jumped over as well. Sadly, Sora knew he couldn't pull off those moves. "So now what?" he wondered aloud as a group of unseen Heartless stealthily crept up behind him and lunged at him with claws of jagged darkness.

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading, and please review! Every review counts!<br>Til the next chapter (which I hope gets uploaded quicker than this one),**

**~Aros13**


	4. Limit Break

**Yay! My goal to have the next chapter up sooner was accomplished! You know the drill. R&R**

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><p><strong> Limit Break<strong>

Kairi was on the verge of tears. She looked down at the crumpled figure of Sora sprawled out on the floor facedown. He promised her he wouldn't leave again. He promised! Riku was on one knee holding his Keyblade, Way to Dawn, out to Sora, sweeping it over him. The body gave off a faint glow and Riku finished his examination. "He's fine, but there are complications," he finally concluded.

"Well, what's the problem?" Riku hesitated for a moment and continued.

"To put it simply…he locked himself inside his heart."

"How?" Kairi asked forcefully.

Riku stared at her looking shocked. "I'm sorry," Kairi immediately said. "I'm just really-"

"I get it. No need to apologize," Riku shrugged off. "And to answer your question," he went on, "Sora used this." He picked up a Keyblade that was grasped in Sora's hand. "Look familiar?" It honestly didn't. Kairi tilted her head and racked her brain. "Oh, yeah," Riku chuckled. "I forgot. You weren't awake yet." The Keyblade was a simple black with a red hilt. The teeth were designed in such a way that the space between resembled a heart. Kairi noticed Riku gaping at the wicked thing.

"What're you doing?"

Riku shook himself out of a trance. "Here. Take it. I can't…touch it. The memories are too painful." Kairi grabbed the handle out of his hand and suddenly felt the presence of darkness.

"How did he get this?" she asked softly.

"That's what I'd like to know. But I know for a fact that that Keyblade isn't real. I've held the real one before. This one's a fake."

"So what do we do?" Riku looked up.

"What do you mean 'What do we do'?"

"Well, we can't just leave him in there! Who knows what damage he could cause to himself. One of us has to go in there!" She knew instantly what Riku would respond.

He thought a moment. "You're right. I'll go." Kairi knew she would get the same lecture they always gave her about how it's "too dangerous" and "they don't want her to get hurt." Riku interrupted her thoughts. "You'll need to stay out here to monitor the body in case something happens." In the back of her mind, Kairi formulated a plan that no one would agree with.

"Alright. I'll need the Keyblade Sora used on himself. Since we're connected, I can use my will to enter his heart instead of mine." Kairi listened intently, still clutching the pitch-black Keyblade. "Now, if I could have that Keyblade back…" Riku held out his hand to receive it. Kairi chuckled.

"I'm sorry Riku, but it's my turn." Riku realized his mistake too soon. With that, the teenage girl turned the Keyblade to face her and plunged it into her heart before Riku could take it back. _Send me to Sora, _she thought as her heart was released from her body and cast down into the comatose body.

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><p>"Arrrggggghhhhhh!" Roxas yelled to the sky as he kicked a brick wall on his right. He felt like hurting something, someone! He was so close to figuring it out. Roxas had chased after the mysterious figure from rooftop to rooftop, district to district, and had almost caught them. When he turned a corner, however, the black coat had just vanished. Poof! Gone! Roxas knew that learning this secret was important to his heart and for a split second, he remembered Number XIV's name! But now, standing on the rooftop of a hotel feeling frustrated, he couldn't recall. Finally, calming down, he realized, "Sora!"<p>

He bashed his head against the wall. "How could I just leave him like that?" He paced the shingles lining the roof. "Where did I leave him?" His question was answered by a startling yell coming from an alleyway close by. Roxas pulled out Oathkeeper and Oblivion, simultaneously, and leaped down across more roofs, finally propelling himself and diving into the alley. His brown haired companion was slumped over near the back wall, clearly unconscious, with several Neoshadows and Soldiers closing in on him. "Oh, no you don't!" Roxas called out, throwing Oblivion boomerang-style, destroying at least five of them. He jumped in front of Sora and defended.

One Neoshadow lunged in to attack only to be met by Oathkeeper halfway. The Soldiers decided to work together, performing kicks one after the other. One kick, Roxas could easily block. Two kicks, he would have less time to retaliate. But about five in a row, he was on his hands and knees, trying to find some opening to strike back. Roxas realized that while he was trying to protect himself, the Neoshadows were closing in on Sora. _How am I supposed to fight ALL of them? _he thought. Suddenly, his memory gave him an answer. _No! I can't do that! It would completely drain me and…_ He had a flashback to his 13th day in the Organization.

_ He was standing in a brick courtyard filled with the orange and yellow light of the sun, the "Sandlot" his comrades had called it. Next to him stood the strongest member of the group, Lexaeus. His orange-brown hair seemed to be blown to the back, as if he were in a wind tunnel. No words were passed for a moment. Finally, he said in a burly voice, "Do you know what a Limit Break is?"_

"_No…" Roxas replied shyly. The large man turned to him._

"_It is the most powerful move at your disposal—one that only works when you are on your last legs." A Shadow suddenly formed out of the ground. Lexaeus grinned. "Time for some 'practical application'."_

"_Huh?" Roxas looked up at him. The Silent Hero pulled his arm back and with his massive strength, flung it forward into Roxas' face. His jaw felt bruised and his energy was depleted. Who knew the man had so much muscle? He doubled over and said through swollen lips, "Mutt muzz zat for? Nngh…"_

"_There. Now you're on your last legs. Let's see you use your Limit Break and defeat that Heartless…"_

Roxas flashed back to the alley, warding off the barrage of kicks. He remembered what to do. Release his anger and his remaining strength to combine them into one devastating attack. "Fine," he said to no one in particular. "You leave me no other choice." Roxas then let down his Keyblades and took the attacks that were pressuring them. His strength was massively falling with each kick and Roxas had to focus. _10…9…8…7…_ The Neoshadows cautiously crawled up to Sora's limp body. _6…5…4…3..._The Soldiers looked happy to finally obtain some easy prey. _2…1…_One last kick bruised his chest and his eyes shot open. Roxas' muscles tensed as a white light faintly glowed around him. Finally, his anger was unleashed on the Heartless.

He hovered in the air as both Keyblades suddenly became shining blades of light. Without even thinking, he jumped from Heartless to Heartless, vaporizing it on the spot. He could've been teleporting he was moving so fast! Each swing of his blazing white weapons was flung with the momentum of the last, allowing him to perform spins, upward strokes, and a cross-slash here and there. Unfortunately, with every Heartless destroyed, about three more took its place. Roxas finally stopped, hovering above Sora. "If that's how you wanna play…" He stretched his limbs outward and unleashed six pillars of light that burst out from his center, propelling outward. Each pillar moved through the Heartless crowd destroying nearly all of them in one go. _Almost_ all of them. Though a single Neoshadow remained, Roxas passed out from exhaustion next to Sora, exiting his Limit. The final Neoshadow, upon realizing it was still alive (if you can all it alive), descended upon the duo, though it didn't get very far. A Kingdom Key had stabbed through its chest, turning it into the usual black dust and a familiar pitch black cloak shadowed the unconscious teenagers as the figure cracked a sad smile and shed a single tear.

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><p>"Heartless!" Sora screamed as he jerked up from his sleeping position.<p>

"Gah!" A cry came as Roxas fell out of bed, sprawled across the floor. "Thanks a lot, dude," Roxas muttered from the ground. Sora flung off the green covers and jumped out of bed.

"Roxas! You're back."

"Yeah. Who do you think saved your sorry butt from those Neoshadows?" Sora looked around.

"Where-" They were in a room with tan walls and a green ornate ceiling. A cherry wood trunk was set up against the back of the room and a red door with the number two led into a different room next to it. The two beds were baby blue with faded yellow sheets.

"Does this place look familiar to you?" Roxas said as he pulled himself up.

"Yeah. This is the room I woke up in when…" He thought a moment. "Oh, yeah. When I met Leon and the gang." Voices could be heard from behind the red door.

Upon entering, the two walked into a red, Chinese-style room with arches on the walls and a canopy bed. Right in the center were four people that cut their conversation to stare at the odd two-some. One man had a leather jacket with black pants and a scratch across the center of his face. Next to him stood two women; one wearing a black ninja outfit, the other wearing a lacy pink gown. The fourth member seemed to be in his forties with blonde hair, a beard of stubble, a white t-shirt, and blue mechanic pants. Though they appeared to be misfits, this group of friends was easily recognizable.

"Leon! Yuffie! Aerith! Cid!" Sora called out.

"Why, Sora! How ya been?" Cid said as he shook the boy's hand, nearly breaking each finger. Sora was about to respond when Roxas pulled him back and whispered in his ear.

"Remember: these aren't the _real _friends you know. These are the ones you remember in your heart. With that being said, they only have limited knowledge, such as their names, the adventures you've been on, and you. This goes for every character in every world in here, like we discussed earlier. Go ahead. Ask Leon who his girlfriend is." Sora turned back to the group.

"Hey, uh, Leon? Did you ever have a girlfriend?"

"Of course," Leon said smugly. The others chimed in.

"Oh, yeah. I liked her."

"A fine one she was."

"The two of us got along great."

"So what was her name?" No one said a word. The four characters exchanged glances nervously.

"It was…it was…oh, I can't remember. Someone help me out here," Leon pleaded.

"I think it was…"

"It started with an R."

"It was something pretty, too." Roxas pulled him back.

"The reason they don't know is because they never told you. If they told you in the real world, then these copies would be able to tell you." He didn't know why, but Sora felt angry at him for using that word: copies. As if it was connected to some bad memories; memories he couldn't recall at the moment.

"So what if they're…copies?"

"What I mean is that they're just memories and feelings pieced together in a body, like this town. They're distractions. They're not worth our time." Roxas passed the door frame and wandered out into the hallway, out of earshot. Sora turned back around to face the group. He sighed.

"Well, I guess I gotta go fellas. Sorry the reunion was cut short."

"Hey, before you go-" Yuffie piped up. "I have a message to deliver."

"Yeah?" Yuffie leaned in and whispered in his ear.

"Three times the bell should ring." They broke apart and Sora hugged everyone before leaving, even Cid (considering the fact that he didn't want his hand to be broken).

"Good to see you all again," The teenager called back as he headed back into the hall in pursuit of Roxas. He spun around one last time. "Oh, and thanks."

"For…what?" Leon confusedly said.

"For saving us. In the alley. After the Heartless attacked and Roxas and I fell unconscious." Sora flung out the door and ran after the Nobody.

"Alley?" Leon questioned. "What was he talking about? Who saved them?" Aerith shook her head. Cid and Yuffie exchanged glances and simultaneously shrugged. "So none of us then?"

"Maybe it was that girl!" Yuffie jumped to her conclusion.

"What girl?"

"You know. The girl that gave me the message to pass on to Sora. The one in the black coat."

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><p><strong>Alright! So, reviews are appreciated, and please respond to my poll found on my profile page. Since there's nothing left to say...<strong>

**~Aros13 **


	5. The Clock Tower

**Okay, so review, tell me how I'm doing, and...enjoy!**

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><p><strong>The Clock Tower<strong>

All the way through the back alleyway, Roxas was faster paced, examining every wall, door, and window, while glancing around at the rooftops every five seconds. "Wait up!" Sora continued to yell, trying to keep up with the newly alert Nobody. Finally, they had stopped in the large street in the middle of the Second District. "What…are you…" Sora panted.

"Where was the keyhole?" Roxas asked without facing him. Sora straightened.

"Pardon?" Roxas turned around to face him.

"The first time you came here, you had to lock this world's keyhole. Where was it?" Sora thought momentarily.

"What's it matter?"

"If I can find the keyhole, then I can move on to the other worlds resting in your heart."

"Does it have to be a keyhole? I mean, some worlds were safe where I didn't need to lock it." Roxas grinned, as if he were trying to explain this to a five-year old.

"It doesn't have to be a keyhole. Just somewhere in each world that has…significance." The two stood for a moment while Sora thought.

"Oh!" he muttered. "I remember it had something to do with…" he pointed towards a tall building whose roof appeared flat and stone. "…up there."

Roxas immediately took off, leaping up the side stairs and landing near the entrance to building, located on its side. A sign above the door said "Gizmo Shop" in bright, but faded colors. Roxas analyzed the corner of the building where this side and another building intersected in the blink of an eye, and scaled the wall using barely visible footholds and propulsion from one wall to the next. And in no time at all, the Nobody had reached the roof, while Sora stood alone in the court, gaping in awe at the boy's acrobatic ability. Sora muttered a choice word in his direction as he got up to the roof the long way around.

When he finally reached the top of the ladder angled against the side of the large stone Gizmo Shop, Roxas was sitting at the edge, dangling his legs in impatience. "You sure took your sweet time," he mused. Sora glared at him and glanced around the unusual rooftop, looking for something that might help him remember. The only thing up here other than the two of them was a large boarded segment of the wall. Someone had obviously cut into the stone behind this building and put something in there, but apparently didn't want it to be tampered with.

Roxas got the same idea, but obviously acted first and asked questions later. Within a heartbeat, Oblivion was pointed in its direction and the wooden barricade caught fire, blowing sparks and heat in their faces. "Roxas!"

"What? We were going to do it anyway. And besides, it's just a…" Inside the small section of the limestone wall, a large brass bell had been hidden. "…a bell?"

The pieces clicked. "'Three times the bell should ring,'" Sora repeated.

"What?"

"That's what Yuffie said," Sora answered as he reached for the frayed rope hanging next to the bell.

"I really don't think it will make any—" The rest of his sentence was droned out from the large clanging of the bell as it swung back and forth on its axle. A large rumbling could be heard down at ground level. At the end of the district, where a large door had been placed leading to the First, was an enormous semi-circular fountain held up against the wall. The part of the wall it was held in brandished a colorful painting of white roses against a red backdrop. Roxas witnessed the painting begin to turn, in response to the bell, until a new picture arose, showing off orchids and lilies.

Sora pulled down tight on the rope a second time and once more, the picture spun, this time having two white trees interconnecting branches with the other. Finally, on the last pull, the fountain's painting spun one last time, resting on a brilliant scene of butterflies flying against the golden background. This must have activated the fountain, for eight spouts suddenly shot out water as if to demonstrate that this was the correct painting. Sora walked away from the bell, still slightly resonating, and stood with Roxas as the butterfly portrait glowed a cloudy, sparkling purple and left a black mark in the shape of a keyhole.

"What do you know?" Roxas stated proudly. "Maybe you are useful." He jumped off, spun in the air, and landed on the grey cobblestone street gesturing for Sora to join him. Sora grunted (he was starting to think he did all those moves just to make him jealous) and jumped to the roof next to him, slowly descending through roof travel. The duo began to walk towards it when suddenly, Sora staggered. "What's wrong?"

"Something's…not right…Something's…" Sora jerked up and tackled Roxas just as several enormous metal objects fell right where he was standing. They were a dark shade of purple and resembled the pieces of a knight's armor, only colossal sized.

"Thanks for that. I-"

"Oh, don't thank me just yet."

The metal armor began to vibrate and violently shake until it all flung in the air and assembled itself. The result was a large purple body of armor that apparently didn't need the help of a host. A large heart with crossed thorns in the middle was imprinted on its chest. "What is THAT?" Roxas exclaimed.

"The Guard Armor." Sora replied. Roxas examined Sora a moment with pity and said, "I'm not letting you get hurt." With that, he threw his arm out behind him and summoned a pitch-black portal. The thing looked ominous with the darkness surrounding it curling up and rotating all around it.

"What's that?"

"How you're getting home."

"What're you talking about?" Sora exclaimed.

"Thanks for helping, but the only reason you came was to tell me that what I'm doing is hurting you. Once I go through the keyhole, I'll return safely back into the depths of your heart and stop this foolishness with this…Number XIV," Roxas stated in a tone that wouldn't take a no. "I can hold this guy off for a while, but you gotta go now!" With that look on his face and the opposing light and dark keyblades at his side, Roxas was practically radiating determination. Sora started towards the beckoning route home, but turned around to see Roxas one more time. This time, however, the look on his face showed his disappointment (probably because he'd just shot down his chances of finding his ally).

The Guard Armor held it's gauntlet up in a fist to have it come down on the Nobody when a spiraling ball of ice crashed against its torso, freezing it solid. Roxas cocked his head in Sora's direction. "Pfft. Really? You thought you'd get rid of me that easily?" Sora called out, blowing wisps of cold away from the tip of the Kingdom Key. "You know, the reason you're so stubborn is because I'm so stubborn." Roxas hung his head.

"Fine, but you'd better not drag me down." The boy and his Nobody took their stances as the Guard Armor shook the frost from his body and attacked.

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><p>Kairi cracked her eyes open a bit as the piercing sun forced its way in. She lifted her head up and, to her surprise, recognized the land. With one hand, she brushed several grains of sand out of her newly brushed hair that refused to keep still in the ocean breeze. Behind her, an entire luscious island burst with flawless trees, bushes, and paopu fruit. Kairi sat right in front of the wake line of her friends' favorite beach. Ah, good ol' Destiny Islands.<p>

Pulling herself up, Kairi took in the beauty until she remembered where she was. "Oh, Riku's going to be fuming when I get back," she said to no one. A rustle in the bushes behind her snagged her attention. It wasn't a simple "breeze" rustle. Rather an "I'll try to sneak away before that girl notices me" rustle. And that kind of rustle was irresistible to walk away from.

"Hey!" Kairi yelled out. She flung her arm to the side in hopes that this keyblade that she could apparently wield would come to her aid, but she hadn't perfected this whole "summon your keyblade on the spot" thing. In frustration, she blindly ran towards whatever was hiding from her in that bush. She was about three yards away when it stood up…with light brown hair, black clothing, and a familiar Kingdom Key.

"Sora!"

Without a word, Sora turned around and ran to a small opening hidden cleverly behind the many bushes' leaves. A cave entrance. The boy got on his hands and knees and crawled his way into the tunnel. Kairi ran after him attempting to catch up. She reached the small opening and copied Sora's movement. It had been a long time since she last entered their Secret Place.

While Sora and Riku were off adventuring, she found it too painful to enter. It had so many memories and ties to her friends. The last time Kairi had seen this place was a day or two after she came home. She found on the back wall her picture of Sora with his carving of her next to it. However, without her knowing, Sora had drawn himself giving her a paopu fruit. It was so sweet she ended up crying, and mirrored his addition to the wall. And that was it. Since then, she refused to go in there, promising herself she wouldn't go in until her friends came home safely.

Kairi finally reached the end of the tunnel and straightened herself out, brushing off dirt and dust residue. Standing with his back to her at the end of the cave was Sora, simply staring at the strange wooden door that occupied the far wall. "Sora!" she called out. Oh, how she would regret it. Sora turned around with a devilish grin. Moments later, his entire body burst into black flames that burnt him up and broke off in the air, leaving a frightened Kairi alone in the Secret Place.

A recognizable laugh echoed through the cave. "Riku?" Kairi yelled out, shocked.

"You're sure this is her?" a calm, male voice asked to someone Kairi couldn't see. A second voice answered. Riku's voice.

"Yeah. That's her." A conversation began between two voices with no occupants, while Kairi wondered whether she stay or run back out.

"Is she really worth it?" Riku questioned.

"Of course. Weren't you listening to the plan? She's essential if we're going to accomplish our goal."

"And just for our little guest here, what is that goal?

"Our scheme to overcome Sora's heart, of course. Control the heart, control everyone attached to it. Got it memorized?" Both voices laughed and resonated through the cavern. Kairi brought up the courage to speak up.

"Hey! Where are you? Don't think about trying anything!" She gasped as a black cloak faded in, like a disappearing illusion in reverse. Before Kairi could even try to make her keyblade appear, the figure in the coat rushed towards–no, into– her. Yes, the man ran straight through her as if she were thin air. And so, the strange figure stood behind her. He turned back around to face Kairi, so he could obviously see her. "What're you–" The cloaked man's fist was grasped on air at first, but something slowly materialized inside it. Kairi couldn't see at first, but it grew clearer until she could make it out. An arm. A girl's arm. A blonde girl in a pure white dress. Namińe.

The girl looked frightened and stared at Kairi with pleading eyes. "No!" Kairi yelled, and she rushed toward the black coat as a ray of light enveloped her arm. The man jumped back as a colorful keyblade swiped at the previously occupied space. The mysterious enemy chuckled and at the snap of his fingers, vanished in a sudden burst of fire. And he took Namińe with him.

Kairi angrily slammed her fists against the wall. She finally summons her keyblade just as the bad guy gets away! How did Sora and Riku deal with that? She screamed at herself and slumped down. Suddenly, the wooden door glowed. It was small at first, but it grew to be blinding. Kairi jumped back from it before she knew, in the back of her mind, that this was the road onward. Step by step, she slowly and cautiously entered the glowing door, delving deeper into Sora's memory.

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><p><strong>Review please, and constructive criticism is appreciated (<span>constructive<span> ****criticism. If you're gonna say something bad, the least you can do is back it up). Not much to say really other than to check out my other stories, so...**

**~Aros13**


	6. Guard Armor

The Guard Armor

In a nutshell: Sora and Roxas were getting their butts handed to them on a plate. The Guard Armor grabbed Sora and flung him against the cobblestone wall for about the tenth time. Sora slumped down next to Roxas, who had taken the hint five whoopings ago, and was now simply waiting it out. Sora, however, just wouldn't quit.

"Would you just give it up?" Roxas asked. "If you keep attacking him, all that's gonna happen is you'll wear out that spot in the wall." He gestured towards the wall where one could clearly see it being worn away.

"I won't give up because first of all, we can't get through the Keyhole with him still there. And secondly, because it doesn't make sense." Sora took deep gasps between each word. Roxas cocked his head, pushing Sora to go on.

"I mean, I've faced this thing before and defeated it single-handedly." Roxas glared at him. "Okay, I had Donald and Goofy's help. The point is, I had no experience the first time, but now that both of us have grown a lot better, I thought this would be a piece of cake. Except…" They both watched the Armor taunt them. A shrill clanking inside it almost sounded like it was laughing at them. "…instead, it's stronger, quicker, and it knows what my next move will be before I do!"

In blind rage, Sora picked himself up and charged the Guard Armor. The Heartless tried to uppercut with its spiked gauntlet, but missed as Sora dived beneath it. He got three strikes to its right foot before it lifted its foot and sent it crashing down, just missing Sora again. This time, Sora flipped into the air, aiming for its helmet, but the Armor grabbed him mid-air and squeezed. To top it off, the Armor threw Sora into the air and punched him with full force. Sora flew in an arc across the courtyard, once again slamming into the worn-away hole embedded into the wall and slumping down next to Roxas once again. "So…how'd it go?"

"I don't get it," Sora mumbled.

"That's what you get for turning down the option to leave. You knew I wouldn't be able to open a corridor again, but _nooo_. You had to play the hero once again," Roxas retorted. They sat in silence for a moment before the Nobody finally asked, "What happened the first time?"

"Huh?"

"How did the fight go the first time you fought it?" Sora thought on it.

"Let's see. It was kind of clunky and slow, but I wasn't really all that fast either. Um, it was very strong and heavy, and…I could maneuver around it easily. It took a while before it noticed…Oh, and it had quite little health compared to some of the larger Heartless I've fought. But once again, I was a little weak back then, so it took a lot longer."

Roxas had that look in his eyes that meant he'd had an epiphany.

"I've got it!" He finally stood up. "I keep forgetting that we're in your heart. That means that all of your memories are tied to everything in here." He poked his skull with a finger. "Although the Guard Armor was quite weak, in your memory it was a difficult battle because you were so inexperienced." He chuckled just thinking about how he was the Nobody of a Keyblade newbie. "With all this in mind, that means that the Guard Armor is made from the memories of your fight."

Something dawned on Sora, too. "I just remembered. One of the Guard Armor's abilities was that it could-" The Guard Armor's fist suddenly flew towards them and knocked them both away. "Yeah. It could split its limbs apart and have each one individually attack you." Roxas glared at him.

"Why do you have to remember this NOW?"

"I'm trying not to, but I can't help it. It also had the power to-Look out!" Roxas rolled out of the way, barely missing a crackling ball of energy cracking the pavement where he had stood. Tracing the trajectory with his eyes, he'd seen it had come from the hollow center of the Guard's torso.

"Stop giving it power!" Roxas yelled at his ally.

Sora suddenly had a realization. "I've got it! I remember how-"

"What did I just say? I hereby ban you from remembering anymore!" Roxas yelled as he bobbed and weaved around the courtyard with two spiked gauntlets on his tail.

"No, I remember how to defeat it. Instead of attacking the Armor as a whole, we both have to focus our attacks on one specific component of its armor at a time." The two detached arms came hovering by, and pulled back, about to attack.

"You better be right," Roxas called out as the arms viciously spun around, creating a razor sharp vortex slowly advancing towards them.

Roxas ran into it, bracing the spinning claws against the edge of his Keyblade. Having bounced off of the Keyblade with such force, the clawed gauntlets hung limp in the air, clearly dazed. Seeing an opportunity, Roxas cast a double Firaga, launching balls of intense heat spiraling out of both Keyblades and slamming into the armored hands.

Meanwhile, Sora confronted the chaotic feet. The metal boots, seemingly walking by themselves, raised themselves high into the sky and stomped down, crushing the cement beneath (and luckily, not our hero that leaped back just in time). The force, however, sent a shockwave through the ground, catching Sora in the middle of it. His legs gave out to the rumble in the ground, and he fell on his back. Sora cracked his eyes open to see the bottom of a boot mere seconds away from crushing him. Thankfully, he was faster.

He raised his Kingdom Key upward and stabbed it straight through the sabaton. Sora stood up, spitting Heartless dust from his face, and ran towards the second boot. Sensing this, the Armor's foot flew up into the air and fell towards the plaza, intending to smash its prey. Foreseeing this, Sora slid under, using the same technique and thrusting the Keyblade right into the sabaton's sole.

Glancing over at Roxas's brawl, Sora witnessed Roxas sliding, jumping, and swinging as he attempted to dodge the gauntlets' swipes while simultaneously getting a few hits in. Once, when the hands hesitated for just a moment, Roxas went in for a combo. He sliced at them a few times, swung upwards, leaped into the air, and came slamming down. The combo was the last thing he needed to finish it off.

Lastly, the Guard Armor's head and torso remained. Working as one, Sora and Roxas ran up to it to finish the job. Unfortunately, the torso began to spin rapidly. The speed of it caused a wall of air to spin upward with it. Once again, Roxas jumped up to it, aiming to block the attack with the shaft of his blade. However, being a tornado, there was nothing to block. Thus, Roxas got caught up in the vortex and was spit out of the top.

Sora cast Aeroga on the Nobody to slow his descent, and waited until the attack finished. The Armor finally stopped spinning, and apparently, Guard Armors get dizzy, too. It staggered a moment and suddenly fell apart; the head rolled next to Sora's feet, the torso right in front of Roxas. They both had at it, swinging one strike after the next, until the Armor, figuratively and literally, pulled itself together. The Armor decided to take a different approach, aiming the empty, hollow bottom towards the pair. The two could clearly see the energy ball forming in its chest. Silently agreeing, Sora and Roxas held up their Keyblades and gathered up their own energy. In the heat of the final moment, the Guard Armor fired its energy ball, and three Firagas were fired to meet it head-on. Upon impact, the destructive forces exploded right between the Heartless and the Keylade Wielders.

Sora and Roxas were thrown back by the explosion and stayed huddled next to the concrete, avoiding the smoke emanating from the crash. As the dust, fire, and smoke settled, the heroes rose and found the remnants of the Guard Armor. Obviously, it's condition made them believe it would never rise again. As if they held their breath through the entire brawl, the two boys both gave a sigh of relief.

"Whew. Finally. I thought this thing would keep on fighting forever," Sora remarked. Roxas shot him a glare. "What?" he asked innocently.

Roxas walked past the fallen helmet and stood in front of the keyhole. It had been glowing for the entire duration of the fight. "Well, I guess we're both moving on." He turned to talk to Sora. "Which also means that you'll have to listen to me. I know a lot more about how to handle what's in here than you do. Whatever we find may have once been real, but they won't be the same."

"So, you're telling me that you know more about what's in the heart even when you don't have one?" Sora mused. Roxas's stare told him just how amusing he found it.

"I mean that whatever we encounter will be different than what it was. Everything in here is a copy of your memory, so be careful with it. Like with the Guard Armor. Every time you remembered something about it only gave it more power." He turned back to the keyhole. "Ready?"

Sora removed the sea-shell charm from his pocket. He couldn't leave now. He felt it was his duty as Roxas's Somebody…and his friend to help him. Sora slipped it back and pointed his Keyblade at the gateway. "Ready."

Roxas aimed his dark and light Keyblades at the keyhole and all three sent a thin beam of light through it. The keyhole glowed…and glowed brighter…and brighter…Its light grew so bright that the all of Traverse Town faded away into the light. As the light died down, Sora and Roxas were no longer in Traverse Town. In fact, they weren't anywhere. In all directions, darkness occupied the land. No ground, no sky, no horizon…no continuing on through Sora's heart.

"Uh, Roxas. Where do we go from here?"

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><p><strong>Sorry I couldn't have this up sooner. I've just been SO sucked up into this RP I'm doing. Anyways, thanks for reading. R&amp;R<strong>

**~Aros13**


	7. Why the Organization Shouldnt Wear Black

**Why the Organization Shouldn't Wear Black**

Roxas and Sora simply began wandering through the inky black terrain, searching for any sign of their next destination. Neither of them could see anything beyond what they hoped to be the horizon. Sora broke the silence. "So, mystical heart expert, the plan is just for us to keep walking in a straight line until we find something…if there's even anything out here?"

Roxas didn't react.

"Roxas?" And so, Sora realized that there was no Roxas guiding him. He had vanished in the darkness that was their location.

"Roxas!" Sora called out in hopes of hearing him. He took a step forward and tried again. "Roxa-" He never got the chance to finish as he realized that his step suddenly felt slightly cushioned. He knelt down to feel to ground and scooped up a handful of pure black sand. "What the…"

Suddenly, just as before, the surrounding darkness shattered like glass into several shards of obsidian and dissipated. The disturbance resulted in color thrown against his environment. He now saw that he stood at the base of a twilight-colored sand dune. Looking around, there were many sand dunes lifted up and down across the land, which, I might add, was completely layered with sand. The most dramatic change was the sudden appearance of the sun, spraying the desert with sunlight and heat.

Stumbling up the dune, Sora peeped over the top and found a boy in black trying to determine his location. "Roxas!" Sora yelled as he waved towards his companion. Roxas spotted him and gestured for him to join the Nobody. Uncomfortable to the terrain change, Sora tripped over himself, staggering and rolling all the way down the sand pile. Roxas helped him up asking, "Any idea where we are?"

Sora removed his jacket and shook a waterfall of sand from it. "Well, there's only one place I can think of that has a desert like this."

He put his jacket back on and climbed the next dune on his hands and knees. When his Nobody reached him, he pointed to a small orange dot on the horizon. Roxas's eyes widened with realization. "I remember this place, too."

"Yep. Agrabah."

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><p>Unfortunately, the city of sand was probably at least four miles away from their current position. As Roxas stood tall as he trekked through the desert, Sora was already panting on his hands and knees. "Why…did the fairies…have to make…my outfit…black?" he gasped as he shielded his eyes from the omnipresent sun.<p>

"Suck it up, will you?" Roxas retorted. "I'm wearing more black than you and I could run another mile." Four minutes later, Roxas was sprawled across the desert floor with his face in the sand.

"You were saying?" Sora asked.

"So…much…sun. I always hated this world," Roxas said, although with his face in the sand, it was more like, "Oh…uck…shun. I alwuss hatted tis erld." Sora helped him sit up and tossed him a Potion. "This will take forever with no help of any kind," Roxas pointed out. Sora perked up.

"So let's get help." Roxas gave him a quizzical look. "One moment please…" He closed his eyes and concentrated. When he believed he succeeded, Sora sat back and waited. "Here he comes…"

A minute or two went by when dark blue clouds swarmed the skies. The clouds rumbled and shook the land. Suddenly, an enormous thunderbolt erupted from the sky and zapped the land right next to Sora and Roxas. A crack appeared in the land where the lightning struck and blue smoke slowly billowed from it. The smoke shaped itself into a screaming figure until an entire blue body remained. The man snapped his fingers and suddenly hundreds of hands surrounded him, all of them applauding. "Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. You've been a wonderful audience," the blue man said. And just like that, the clouds vanished as if they'd never been there.

The hands disappeared, leaving only Sora clapping. "Nice entrance there, Genie." The Genie produced a pair of enormously thick glasses, magnifying his eyes, as he examined Sora through them. The glasses disappeared in a puff of smoke as Genie remembered.

"Sora!" The Genie put him in a headlock and gave him a noogie. "Ol' buddy, ol' pal. How've ya been? Staying out trouble with those Heartless, I hope. Any new adventures you wanna tell me about?" He gasped. "You didn't find yourself another genie to befriend, did you? Just gimme his name and I'll hunt him down. Nobody better try to swindle my-"

"Genie!" The Genie realized that he'd noogied him down to the scalp, leaving him bald.

"Oh, sorry there."

He thought a moment. "I never was fond of that haircut. How about something a little more sophisticated?" He snapped his fingers and turned Sora's hair into a powdered wig. "Nope. What about adding a little funkiness to your style?" In a poof, it turned into an afro. "Too poofy. I'm thinking more 'Hey-look-at-me'. You know, an attention grabber." Now it turned into two spikes of hair coming from both sides of his head and a red squeaky ball at the end of his nose.

"Genie…"

"Fine, fine. Whatever kind of messy, intensely spiky hair you want is your choice." Finally, it returned to Sora's average, intensely spiky hair. "But seriously, what kind of gel do you use for these weapons?" Genie poked the tip of one of Sora's spikes. It pricked his finger and deflated it like a balloon.

"Anyways, Genie, we need a ride to Agrabah."

"We?" Genie finally shifted his focus to the black cloaked boy watching this all go down. After examining Roxas with his special thick glasses, Genie said, "Is it just me, or have I seen you before?"

Roxas hesitated before answering. "Uh, yeah. We bumped into each other in the desert one time, remember?"

Genie racked his brain. "Oh, yeah. You were aimlessly wandering through the desert when we met. But then I turn my back for one second, and you ditch me. What's with that?"

"Sorry. It's nothing personally. I was just…in a hurry."

"You mean, WE were in a hurry."

"Huh?" Roxas asked.

"You know, you had that girl with you when we met, right?" Roxas thought for a minute.

"You mean Larxene? She was our only female member...I don't remember coming here with her."

"I guess so. I didn't really catch your names, but she seemed sweet. And you two looked like you made a nice couple," Genie teased. Roxas's head was now filled with confusion and horror.

"Me and Larxene?" He mentally vomited. "But, wait. She seemed…sweet to you?"

"Yeah. Cutest thing she was, too." Genie turned back to Sora, leaving Roxas to ponder on this. "So, transportation's all you need?"

"Pretty much. Just to Agrabah," Sora answered.

"You're going to that sand shack? Wouldn't you rather want to go to the Cave of Wonders? Shade, riches, evil genies you trapped for eternity waiting to take their revenge..." Genie asked.

"Nope. Just Agrabah." Genie huffed.

"Fine. If you want to visit a sand-filled ghost town for your vacation, that's your choice. If you want messy, intensely spiky hair, that's your choice as well." He whistled and in reply, a rug drifted towards them from behind a nearby dune. Roxas asked Sora, "This is all you did here? Play around with a blue man and fly on a carpet?"

"Pretty much," he replied as he took off to catch a ride on a Magic Carpet.


	8. Conflicting Memories

**Conflicting Memories**

Harsh, sandy wind blew even faster into Sora and Roxas's face as they sped over dune after dune. They had underestimated the desert, for what looked like only a few miles turned out to be much larger. It would've added at least three days on foot. However, with a magic carpet hoisting you into the air, they would make it to Agrabah by dinnertime. On the way, the Genie, who was currently flying through the air beside them, began telling him stories from his world tour. By the sixth far-fetched tale, all Roxas wanted was for him to shut up.

"So, there I was," the Genie continued, "in a life-or-death struggle with Nessie. She seems to be really cranky these days. I had to clutch the side of my dinghy as it rose and dived among the storm-ridden seas while using all of my strength to keep the fishing pole in my grasp. When all hope seemed lost…" The Genie sprouted a scraggly fisherman beard, a sailor hat adorned with an anchor, an eyepatch, and a lit corn-cob pipe. He finished his story with a pirate voice. "…I let the harpoon fly as I called 'Thar she blows!' Finally, I knew the white whale was mine, but I let 'er go to savor her life in the ocean."

"Um, Genie, you said it was Nessie, not a whale," Sora pointed out.

Back to normal, Genie replied, "Well…I might have tweaked the story a bit."

Roxas thanked whatever God watched over them as the walls of the city appeared before them. A large arch cut out of the wall marked the entrance into Agrabah. The city looked exactly as Sora remembered (duh!) from his first visit as the Carpet came to a halt in the street. Every scratch, brick, and sand speck had been right in its place as he remembered, except…

"Hey, Genie. What's that hole in the wall between those buildings?" Sora pointed out, gesturing at (you guessed it) a large gaping hole in the wall to their left, hidden from average view between the buildings. "I don't remember that from either time I was here."

"I do."

This was the first time Roxas had spoken up for the whole trip. Sora and Genie turned to him as he jumped down from the Carpet.

"I was the one that found that hole when I was here. It acted as the Organizations' passageway to the Cave. I mean, the alternative would've been to trek through the desert, which clearly doesn't work for us," he added, brushing grains of sand from his cloak.

"You sure you don't need anything else? Perhaps a sparkling beverage? A platter of bacon? A bejeweled lampshade? A lion-poodle hybrid?" Genie asked, making each item appear consecutively.

"Uh, no thanks," Sora rejected humbly as the lion-poodle bared its teeth towards him.

"Fine, your loss," Genie teased, making everything disappear with a poof except the lion-poodle, which had leapt onto the blue man and taken a deep bite into his arm. "So I guess I'll see ya around, kid?"

"Definitely," Sora replied with a grin.

"Well it's off I go!" The Genie shrunk himself into a miniature rocket and lit the fuse. "I hear the moon's lovely this time of _yeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaarrrrrrrrr_!" he shouted as he blasted off into the twilight desert sky.

Roxas finally turned to him. "Alright, I guess we should look around or whatever."

"Right," Sora responded.

Roxas investigated the abandoned shops while Sora checked the streets and rooftops. Roxas was checking a booth near the gate into the palace when a memory flash hit him. He fell to his knees and clutched his head as he saw an image in his mind.

It showed him in a large orange cavern with a high platform on the each side. There was some sort of floating device with a satellite dish on top in the center of the cave, but the odd part was the warrior fighting him. They were clad in full pink and black body armor with a Nobody symbol fitted across the face mask. They had four arms with golden arm guards and a scimitar in each hand. It was…all too familiar in some way. At last, it vanished.

Roxas was panting on his hands and knees when Sora found him. He rushed to his aid and helped him up. "Sora, I—"

"I know," Sora cut him off, sweating and gasping just like him. "I saw it too."

"I think…I think they want us to follow…these flashes."

"It looked like...you know, that one…place…" Sora beat his head with his fists in an attempt to remember.

"The Cave of Wonders."

"Right," Sora sighed. Good thing he had his Nobody to remember for him.

"Think you could call Genie back?" Roxas asked. Sora paused.

"Who?"

Roxas sighed. "The giant blue man. The guy that got us here?"

"Oh, um…" Sora went into deep thought. "I don't think so."

"Fine, we'll go my way." Roxas directed them towards the hole Sora had pointed out earlier.

"Okay," Sora complied. The hole, Sora discovered, was actual a secret underground passage that, incredibly, lead them to the Cave in no time. The pair approached the large tiger head in all its sandy glory. "So, what do you expect we'll find down there? And who's 'leading us?'"

"I'm not sure…Answers, hopefully," Roxas replied, pressing on. They both carefully trailed down the staircase (into the tiger's throat) and soon touched down to the first chamber. Immediately upon stepping off the stairs, a band of Heartless popped out of nowhere like they usually did: Two Fat Bandits, four Red Nocturnes, and three Gargoyles. Keyblades immediately flashed into hand, ready for a brawl.

Sora took two steps forward and stumbled. He looked around the chamber, but something was wrong with it. He saw the chamber they were currently in, but he saw a different room parallel to it, like one eye was watching a different place than the other and his brain was trying to put them together. He shook it away and jumped into the fight.

Roxas took a single swing to the Fat Bandit and realized his mistake. His Keyblade was bounced back as the Heartless's fat literally acted as a shock absorber. It took in a deep breath and blasted him with fireball. Roxas didn't have enough time to bring his Keyblades up to block and he got a face full of fire. A Gargoyle was eyeing him, preparing an attack. Roxas took advantage of this and dashed behind the Fat Bandit. The Gargoyle swoop down to swipe at him, but Roxas jumped just in time for it to crash into the Bandit. With the moment of advantage, and raised Oblivion to the sky and shouted "Thunder!" Both dazed Heartless were blasted on the spot with a single flash of electrifying light.

Meanwhile, Sora was having trouble with the pesky Nocturnes. They continued to charge him and shoot balls of fire one after another, hardly giving him any reaction time. In a sudden rage, he took a split second and shouted "Stop!" Just as he commanded, the Heartless were temporarily immobilized. He performed a combo on one and his Keyblade charged up with light with every connected hit. Finally, Sora swung it down and sent a shockwave of light around him, vaporizing them all in a single powerful attack.

A Fat Bandit slapped its belly and charged Sora, who, taking a breather from the Nocturnes onslaught, was caught in the attack. Roxas, handling a Gargoyle at the moment, noticed Sora's sharp decrease in remaining stamina. He blocked the Gargoyle's swipe, countered with an uppercut and down swing, and ran to his aid. He aimed both Keyblades towards the Fat Bandit with its back turned and blasted two chunks of ice racing toward it. The Heartless had enough time to turn around before the ice connected and destroyed it.

The remaining Gargoyle flew down to attack Sora, but Roxas leaped on it and stabbed both Keyblades through its chest. When all the Heartless were finally gone, Roxas performed a Curaga over Sora and helped him up. "You took quite a beating," he remarked.

"So I've noticed. Just wondering, but did you see—" Just like before, Roxas interrupted.

"Yeah."

"What was that?"

"Well," Roxas hesitated, "let's just say that your Cave of Wonders and my Cave of Wonders are kinda different. Don't ask me how. But since both of us have different memories of this place…"

"…then what I saw was your version while you're in mine."

"See?" Roxas pointed out. "Your heart, this place, is more complicated than you think."

"Let's just get on with it," Sora said, moving on through the cave.

"So eager, aren't we?" Roxas teased. A noise skittered behind him. He turned around, but saw nothing. He went to catch up with Sora, unaware of the man in the black cloak emerging from the shadows.

He smoothed his flaming red hair back and muttered to himself.

"They're on their way." A voice responded in his head.

"Right on schedule."

"And they cleared the Heartless with nooo trouble whatsoever," Axel added.

"Even better," Riku replied. "The more they kill…the more his heart will crumble until there is nothing left."


	9. Struggles of Agrabah

**Struggles of Agrabah**

The duo traversed through dungeon after sepia-colored dungeon, careful to avoid falling in the pits and traps strung around the place. Occasionally though, yes, one of them would slip or be blasted by a powerful jet of water into the darkness of the chasm on their right. Sora and Roxas both continued to have brief glimpses of "Roxas's Cave of Wonders" though they never lasted long and didn't really bother either one.

At last, upon entering a new cavern, Sora stopped, took a deep breath, and said quite proudly, "…I'm lost."

Roxas hung his head. "You've got to be kidding me…You're the one who's been down this way before. This is your Cave after all, and you're lost?"

Sora knelt down and massaged his head. "Hold on, I'm getting something…" He looked around the cavern and stood up quickly. "This way," Sora exclaimed, and took off running. "We're close!"

They skidded around a corner to find a beautiful and despairing sight: a room filled with enormous piles of gold and treasure. The gold glimmered and shone brightly, just begging someone to give into greed and take them away. Sora could've stood on a pile and keep six feet above the ground easily. And then there was the despairing part: it was the wrong treasure room. Sora ran to the back wall and pressed up against it, worried.

"What? No! This room…It's the wrong one!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Roxas inquired.

"I'm not sure how to explain it…" Sora replied, scratching his head. "It's like…this room isn't the same as when I first came here. Somewhere between my first and second journeys, this room—and even this whole Cave—just remodeled itself or something." He stared at the wall. "The part of the Cave we have to get to? It can only be accessed from the Cave of my first visit."

"I know what you're talking about," Roxas said to his back. "The Organization taught me that the worlds have hearts too, right? And sometimes, when certain worlds are influenced by things or people the world is not familiar with—that would be us—their hearts can change or mix up its own places and scenery. You probably just influenced this world a little," he explained.

"Yeah? Well I need to un-influence it," Sora remarked.

"You keep forgetting," Roxas smirked, wagging a finger. "We're just traversing the memories of your heart. This isn't a real physical place. It can shift with your own memories."

Sora turned back to him. "Heh heh, right," he grinned. Sora closed his eyes and tried his best to visualize the treasure room from his first visit. The one with a pillar blocking their way to the Lamp Chamber. Okay, he had the image. Now, he just had to remove the pillar...After some brain straining, the complete picture was held in his mind's eye and he held it tight.

His eyes opened. The glinting room of riches was wavering like it was a dream. Piece by glorious gold piece, the cavern changed until it was the exact way the boy imagined it to be. "There," he said, walking towards the open passageway to the next room: the chamber where the Keyhole lay. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and Roxas turned him around.

"Hey." The Nobody studied him and rubbed his gloved thumb over Sora's forehead, smearing Sora's sweat. "Are you okay?" This startled Sora a bit, as he could see concern in the other's eyes for the first time.

"Yeah," Sora immediately answered, "I'm fine." He shrugged off Roxas and led him to the next room. Roxas followed closely behind.

They stepped into the next cavern. It was enormously carved out, brown walls of rock encasing it in a dome, a small ring of water in the center with a dry lump of stone in the center, and three elevated platforms also of rock. The platform opposite of them had a piece of the wall cut out behind them; that's where the Keyhole rested.

"Well, onward, I guess," Sora stated aloud. Roxas said nothing. "One step closer to answers, am I right?" Still no reply. Sora turned to face him. "Roxas?" There was no Roxas.

Sora reeled back in shock. "Roxas!" he shouted! "Roxas! Where are you?"

"Sora! Can you hear me?"

"What? Roxas, where are you?"

"Where am _I_? Where are _you_!" he responded with a bodiless voice. "I was following you and you just vanished!"

"But...I'm still here."

"Ahhhhhhhhh!" Roxas shouted.

"Roxas? What's happening! Roxas! Are you still there?" Sora exclaimed, panicked. He looked around the cavern once more...and was startled to see something that was not here before. Sitting in the center of the chamber on the hill of dry stone was...a device of some sort. It was glowing white and hovering above the floor. Four rods protruding from it spun around it in synchronization. It had a white flat disc with one long rod pointing down from it, from which it hovered. A satellite dish protruded from the top. No doubt what kind of tech this was: Organization XIII.

It just sat there, hovering, rotating, and glowing. Sora heard coughing. "Sora?"

"Roxas! What happened?"

"I...I don't know. I was just standing there and...the floor...The floor collapsed on itself and I fell into it. I think...I'm on a giant stone floor surrounded by magma," Roxas explained.

"That...sounds familiar," Sora stated, racking his brain. He gasped. "Wait! That happened to me when-"

His thought was interrupted by an exploding white light. The boy had to shield his eyes from the intensity. The light subsided and to his surprise, an armored warrior stood in front of the device. The warrior held four silver, gold, and purple shields up to surround its body. Four gleaming scimitars extended from the tops of each shield. It stood like that for a few moments, and suddenly extended each sword-shield in a fighting stance. The warrior itself was dressed in pink and silver Keyblade Armor, a large red Nobody symbol across the face of the helmet.

"Sora? What's wrong?" Roxas's voice asked. The armored person surged forward and knocked Sora away. He grunted upon impact with the floor.

"Roxas, I'll talk to you later! Just remember to-" The person attacked again, but Sora locked the blades with his own. "-attack the lamp!"

Sora pushed the soldier away and braced himself. He rushed head-on towards it and performed a combo. The four-armed warrior leapt up high and came crashing down towards him. Sora rolled out of the way just in time. However, a swift swing of a scimitar caught him in the back. The boy jumped onto the first platform and shot three consecutive Firagas. The opponent blocked the first, but the second and third exploded in their face. They ran to him and joined Sora on the platform. A sparring match was engaged as the Keyblader blocked, parried, and struck until the opponent swung two swords at his feet. Sora lost balance and fell back to the ground.

The warrior jumped down to meet him and shot a beige light to the ground. A circle of the same color appeared and Sora couldn't help being pulled to it. It pulled him towards it like two large hands pulling him closer. When Sora was in the dead center, he couldn't escape the volley of hits from his attacker.

The circle faded away and Sora immediately jumped away. He shot out a Thundaga, but it didn't faze the armored person. It jumped toward him, but Sora parried the attack and unleashed a flurry of swipes to their unguarded body. Unfortunately, they bashed him a shield, swiped his legs out from under him, and sent him sliding across the floor. The boy stood up out of breath next to the strange white device. He didn't know how much longer he could do this. An idea struck him like a purple and gold shield from a mysterious opponent in pink Keyblade Armor.

The attacker ran up to him, all scimitars bared to attack. In a last-minute attempt, Sora swiped once at the machine, swiped twice, and thrust the Kingdom Key straight through its disc. The device fell to the ground and shuddered with voltage. And the strange opponent...fell limp and crumpled to the floor, like a robot with no life left. The shields and swords dissipated, leaving the person with just their armor.

However, the being stood himself up and just stared at the Keyblader. Sora got a real case of the creeps from this guy. Finally, they threw a hand behind them and summoned a small black void. The void sucked the attacker inside...and collapsed in on itself. That was that. "Roxas..." Sora said, catching his breath, "you okay there?"

* * *

><p>"Roxas, I'll talk to you later. Just remember to-" And Sora cut off.<p>

"To what? Remember to what!" There was nothing at first, but then...

"Attack the lamp!"

"Sora? Sora, what's going on?" No response.

An enormous rumble shook the floor and from the lava, an enormous crimson man rose. His eyes were yellow and his only hair was secured in a topknot. A dark red sash was tied around his bare waist while the bottom half of his body stayed in the magma. Short black claws took the place of fingernails and a twisted black goatee grew from his chin. "Who are you!" Roxas exclaimed, arming his Keyblades. The man said nothing, but shrunk back down into the lava.

"What was that about?" he asked aloud, and turned around to find a way out. Unbeknownst to him, the man of crimson skin had risen from the magma once more, this time carrying a massive boulder, lava leaking through its cracks.

"Take this!" he shouted, and heaved the boulder towards the Nobody.

"Huh?" Roxas turned around just in time to see the rock slam into him, throwing him to the edge of the platform. Roxas was holding on by his elbows, trying to get a grip of the floor. Lava bubbled beneath him as he pulled himself up.

"You're asking for it!"

Roxas ran to the edge just in front of the man's bare chest and blasted a stream of Blizzagas from his Keyblades' tips. The heaps of ice made contact...and did absolutely no damage at all. The giant laughed and swatted him to the side. Not one for giving up, Roxas was about to attack once more when the oddest thing happened: a plump parrot landed on his head...and it spoke! "Hey, Jafar!" the parrot cried out to the giant. "How long do I gotta carry this lamp? I don't know how long I can handle the weight!" it said, panting.

"Iago!" Jafar boomed, "You useless bird! Have you not realized where you are!" The parrot bent over and looked into Roxas's eyes.

"Yipes!" the bird shouted and immediately flew away. In its feet it carried a black Arabian lamp.

"Attack the lamp?" Roxas repeated Sora's instruction. He ran to follow the bird, leapt to the air, and swung Oblivion into it. Jafar doubled over and groaned in pain.

"Iago, keep the lamp away from them!" he ordered. The bird flew to the opposite side and hovered there, panting.

_What an odd way to defeat someone_, Roxas thought as he headed over. Jafar, however, had different plans. He crossed his arms and shot a beam of burning energy towards the Nobody. Roxas rolled out of the way, but the blazing stare followed him. He ran as quickly as he could to the awaiting parrot and swung at it. The bird mocked Roxas and yanked the lamp out of the way just in time.

Iago snickered and flew away. "Not on my watch!" Roxas exclaimed and used a double Strike Raid. Both spiraling Keyblades hit the black lamp several times before returning to him. Jafar moaned from the attack. This time, though, the bird had flown too high, far out of his reach. The boy tried spells, but the parrot kept flying out of its path just in time, and soon he was out of magic.

Roxas was dying here, too. The heat from this place made him hot, sure. But because his stupid coat intensified the effect, he was suffocating here, drenched in sweat. He knelt down to recompose himself when he noticed the floor. It was changing. Pillars of the floor grew and shrunk, creating levels. Then other parts would grow while other random parts shrunk. It was shifting; must have something to do with Sora's memory.

Whatever it was, Roxas would definitely take the advantage. The Nobody jumped to the first block to the next one, climbing higher and higher. Finally, he reached the tallest column (at the moment) and leaped towards the parrot. It squawked out of shock as he used three consecutive combos, filling his Keyblades with light and using his fury as fuel. On the final swing, columns of white light exploded and dispersed from the blades, dealing additional damage. The floor shifted again and Roxas, the bird, and the lamp fell to the ground.

Iago was unconscious and the lamp out of his grip. Roxas walked up to it, holding the shoulder he'd landed on, and held Oathkeeper up to stab it straight through. A cackling was heard. The Nobody turned to Jafar and was once more met with a boulder of magma. The boy slid once more to the opposite end, this time holding on by fingertips.

"And now for the final blow!" Jafar exclaimed, laughing and reeling his hands back to bring them down and knock Roxas to a fiery death. Then the boy caught sight of the lamp. It had also been knocked this way from the boulder attack...and was dangling halfway over the edge! Jafar brought his hands down and Roxas pulled the lamp overboard...The lamp exploded in a pink light and Jafar shrieked from pain, halting his attack. "No! No! Curse that...wretched...lamp!" Jafar fell back into the lava below, shouting and bellowing from his defeat.

Roxas pulled himself back up with difficulty and lay sprawled across the now-even floor. He panted, taking in deep breaths and trying not to choke on the burning air. The genie was gone, but the lava and heat were still there. They were the real foes. Roxas's world began spinning and his mind reeled as he heard Sora say, "Roxas...you okay there?...Roxas?" And Roxas closed his eyes.

* * *

><p>And just like that, the heat was gone and the floor was cool. The Nobody sat up quickly, giving him a massive headache. He was back in the original chamber, the floor still intact. "Roxas!" Sora ran to him. "Are you okay? What happened?" Roxas said nothing, only pushing him out of the way and crawling to the circle of water. After taking several gulps, he sighed.<p>

"I'm okay...What happened here?"

"Um...I was attacked by...someone, and there was this device," Sora answered, gesturing to empty space. He was visibly shocked. "What! I swear, it was just here!" He hung his head in shame.

Roxas stood himself up. "I fell through the floor...and had to fight some giant, red, man...by attacking a black lamp...being carried by a talking parrot," he explained, trying to sound as least crazy as possible.

Sora smiled and gave an unexpected response: "I know." Roxas was about to say something, but stopped himself. "Okay," he said, chuckling.

They turned to the Keyhole, glowing against the far back wall. "Well...I guess we should press on..." the Nobody stated, heading towards it. They approached it and held out their Keyblades. "Oh, wait," Roxas added, "you go on ahead. I have to do something real quick." Sora nodded and unlocked the Keyhole. His body exploded into thousands of white crystal shards and were sucked into the Keyhole.

Roxas looked back at the chamber, recounting his near-death experience. In one swift motion, he tore the black Organization cloak from his body and threw it to the center of the cavern. The boy then ripped long tears in his pants from the knee down, allowing a lot more air to circulate. Beneath his cloak, he had always worn a simple, white, short-sleeved shirt of cotton. That shirt was his new style now. He grinned and said to himself, "The Organization really shouldn't have picked black."

With that, Roxas spun his Keyblades and blasted a thin white beam from each of them to the Keyhole. His body exploded into thousands of glass shards and were sucked into the Keyhole. Another black-coated figure finally emerged from the shadows after waiting for so long. They picked up the discarded Organization coat and examined it. Without a word, the figure ran up to the Keyhole as well and placed their palm upon it. Still carrying the coat, the Keyhole grew into a full-sized, gleaming white door. The figure flung it open and stepped inside, the door returning to its Keyhole state.

A third black-coated figure entered the lonely cavern from the corridor connecting it to the treasure room. Axel pulled back his hood and smirked. "Well, waddaya know? She IS trailing them. Looks like you called it," he said to the voice in his head. "And is our guest enjoying her stay?" he added.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, in the deepest recesses of Sora's mind, a silver-haired boy wrapped in darkness stood in a simple room, blanketed in pure white. This dark Riku heard Axel's every word speak in his own head. "Oh yes, she's absolutely loving the place," he answered, turning his attention back to the pale, blonde girl sitting forlorn in the only chair in the room. "But you gotta make sure Sora keeps up with those Heartless. They're the key to this whole mission."<p> 


End file.
